


Important Research

by Nunonabun



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: And lots of nerdy pillow-talk, F/M, Smut, though potentially well researched smut?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-20 11:44:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14260242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nunonabun/pseuds/Nunonabun
Summary: Anonymous asked: "Prompt 16 - Aren't you a bit... not... qualified?"Wherein Patrick brings up an interesting article he read, and he and Shelagh verify its conclusions.





	Important Research

**Author's Note:**

> I re-wrote this old prompt because I didn’t realize the prompt was six words, as opposed to it being a prompt for a microfic as I’ve seen in the past. I don’t know folks, my brain needs help sometimes. Also be warned, ahead lies my first attempt at writing smut. It's full of cliches and honestly lads, I have no clue what I'm doing. But there it is.

Patrick watched his wife don her nightgown with an admiration he was still awed that he could express. As he did so, his mind wandered back to an article by one Ernest Gräfenberg he had read a short while ago. When he had first come across it, he had been widowed and heartsick, going through old issues of medical journals he had found when clearing out a closet at home. He had only taken note of the title at the time, knowing it would be useless to him, given that to even express his feelings towards the woman he loved and desired was out of the question.

In the whirlwind that had followed, he’d not had time to read it, but in the short period following their wedding the article had resurfaced in his mind, and he’d eagerly hunted it back out of the cabinet he’d chucked it in.

Before their wedding, they had taken their physical intimacy slowly, tentatively exploring one another as much as possible without reaching the stage they wanted to save for their wedding night. Since that highly anticipated night they had been far less tentative, eagerly enjoying the freedoms of marriage. However, exploring their bond physically was challenged by Patrick’s hours and the need for night-time silence. Yet as tomorrow was Saturday, and Tim was happily away at Colin’s for the night, it seemed a wonderfully appropriate time to thoroughly examine the article’s claims.

“A little while ago I came across an… interesting article in some back issues of gynaecological medical journals.” Patrick began, keeping his tone even and light. They did not always need to proceed delicately, but he felt the need to take this slowly.

The moonlight through the light curtains illuminated her hair as she ran her brush through it in an even rhythm. “Did you?”

Patrick nonchalantly pulled on his pyjama shirt, carefully buttoning it. “It had some interesting assertions whose accuracy ought to be tested.”

Shelagh did not pause in her routine; they often discussed articles of interest, no matter the time of day, and nighttime did lend itself to contemplation.

“Why ever?” She asked, those two adorable lines drawing themselves between her eyebrows “Aren’t you a bit… not… qualified to be conducting complex research?”

Patrick grinned at her unsuspecting question. “Oh, it’s not so complex. And with you as my research partner, I believe I am eminently qualified.”

His tone must have given him away, as Shelagh finally turned to face him, suspicious. “What exactly was this article about, Patrick?”

He extended a hand to her, and she cautiously allowed him to draw her close.  

“Well, you see,” he ghosted his hands down her sides to her hips, rubbing his thumbs over the sensitive divots there. “The author claimed that there were many more erotogenic spots on the female body that were commonly known, if only the woman’s partner knew to find them.”

“A wise man, then.” She noted with a primness laced with enticement that was wholly unique to her and which never failed to excite him.

“A curious one, at least.”

“I do like a curious man.” She noted with false guilelessness, fluttering her eyes down, and then shyly back up to his. “Were there any spots in particular that he suggested?”

Captivated as always by the knowledge of the passion her proper demeanour concealed so well, he murmured, “they’re rather difficult to explain.”

“Show me then?” she whispered against his lips, pulling him towards their bed.

He settled himself between her legs as she lay back, not letting his mouth stray far from hers.

“Some of his suggestions were rather odd,” he noted, rocking gently against her as she pushed him back slightly to gain access to the buttons of his top. Shelagh filed this away to query him about further later, but let him continue.

“However some were quite promising.” He trailed his hand further up the inside of her thigh and she bent her knee, encouraging his leisurely exploration.

Keen on encouraging her to express her curiosity Patrick took his time undressing her, slowly drawing her nightgown over her head and sliding her pants down her elegant legs while maintaining eye contact. His restraint was already having the desired effect; he could see a spark of impatience light in her eyes along with the desire that dilated her pupils.  

“I think you already know of the one you’re heading too,” she finally commented as he took his time kissing his way back up her legs, spreading them wider as he did.

Patrick continued his attentions. “The general region, perhaps, but the author suggested a more careful exploration.” Reaching said region, he dipped his head to kiss her teasingly, gently sucking her clitoris as one of her hands twined itself in his hair.

He hummed appreciatively and was rewarded with a shiver and soft intake of breath.  They had enjoyed this form of this activity before, so Patrick pressed on, tentatively sliding his tongue inside her and licking it along her anterior wall as Gräfenberg suggested. Her surprisingly loud yelp of pleasure happily confirmed Gräfenberg’s allegations and Patrick enthusiastically repeated the gesture. Her body tensed quickly as he continued his efforts, spurred on by the increasing rhythm of her breathing. More rapidly than either of them expected her thighs tightened around his head.

Acting quickly on another promising finding from the article, Patrick shed his pyjama trousers, hoisted Shelagh’s legs up around his hips and sheathed himself to the hilt inside her. For a moment he feared he’d hurt her, never having heard such a guttural cry from her before. Then she pulled him to her, kissing him fiercely, and he instantly resumed his actions, eschewing their normally gentler rhythm. She ground her hips up against him, encouraging his frantic pace.

Distantly recalling what he’d intended to try, he pulled away from her enticing mouth, adjusting her legs to wrap around his waist, her heels pressing into the top of his rear as she clung to him. Propping himself on shaking arms he straightened his torso, but grunted in frustration as the motion forced his thrusts to become shallower.

“Put your knees under me.” Shelagh suggested breathlessly, discerning his intentions. Readjusting himself to kneel beneath her - the backs of her thighs lying atop his - proved just the trick.

He grinned down at her as he re-established their earlier rhythm, holding tightly to her hips. “My clever wife.”

Her answering laugh was cut off by a moan she would regularly have forced herself to stifle as he once again found that particular spot that had elicited her orgasm so suddenly.

“There?” He asked, his question more a vaguely inquisitive exhalation than a word.

She nodded, eyes clouded with pleasure but fixed firmly on his. He couldn’t look away, though he didn’t know how much longer he would last watching pleasure ripple across her features and feeling it shudder through her body. He saw the moment she broke barely a second before he felt her whole body tense around him.The elation of the sight and feeling of her shattered him as well, and he let his vision go dark as his completion overtook him.    

–

Once the intensity of their pleasure had faded to warm satisfaction, Patrick pulled himself up to lie alongside his wife, looking more than a little smug.

Shelagh cupped his jaw, kissing him languidly. “I’m very glad you decided to embark on this course of research, Doctor.”

He ran his hand along her side, pulling her to him more gently this time, oversensitive after their exertions but still wanting to hold her close.

“Mmhmm. I do agree, the results have proved highly satisfactory on my end, and yours as well I think?” He was certain of his own observations, but he liked to confirm them, partially because it thrilled him to hear her explain her emotional experience of their intimacy.

“I absolutely concur.” Shelagh agreed, curling her arm around his tummy and resting her head on his chest.

“Is that spot like the clitoris?” She asked. "Or is it a different spot for different women, like the other erotogenic parts of the body?”

“That is one question I am more than happy to leave to others to solve, though Gräfenberg - the author - assures us it is reliably found as he himself has found it in numerous women.” He rolled his eyes.

“Quite.” She kissed his nose, softly gracing his cheeks as well before moving back down to his lips. “What else did he write about?”

He traced the elegant lines of her shoulder blades. “The more intense the orgasm, the faster woman is ready for sex again.”

Shelagh pondered that for a moment. “I don’t know that that’s generally true for me. I would say it’s usually rather the opposite. I find I’m usually too sensitive.” She noted, surprising him with her openness. It was not that she was normally reticent in bed - in fact her boldness astonished him from the beginning - it was only that she was still somewhat shy about verbalizing specifically what pleased her physically. He wondered if it was helpful that they were discussing sexual pleasure almost scientifically.

“Patrick?” She pushed lightly on his chest, nudging him out of his mind.

“Sorry Love, I was just thinking about what you said.” It was somewhat true, and he resolved to voice his thoughts later.

“Were you oversensitive this time as well?” Patrick asked. “If I caused you discomfort or pain -”

“No, darling, nothing like that.” She assured him, turning her face up to his so he could see the honesty in her eyes. “I think it depends on how the orgasm is elicited.”

She sensed his question before he asked it. “If you pleasure me with your mouth,” in spite of her newfound candour, she still blushed a bit at this, “I still often ache to feel you inside of me.”

“But not after we’ve joined once already?” He sought to confirm.

“No,” she agreed, settling back into a comfortable position, “I need a wee bit of time after that, just as you do.”

He nuzzled her hair. “Another way we fit perfectly.”

Patrick chuckled then, remembering some striking facts from the beginning of the article. “Bully to Kinsey!”

“Oh? Did he disagree with Gräfenberg?” Shelagh asked.

“In fairness to Kinsey, it’s not only him, but at any rate he and a fair number of others have found that about 75 percent of women suffer from  _frigidity_.”

He didn’t have to look down to know Shelagh had raised her eyebrows at that. “I think that perhaps 75 percent of women suffer from poor sexual partners.”

Patrick gave a soft huff of agreement. “Gräfenberg also told the story of an older man who failed to ever bring his wife to climax, though they had two children together, so he suggested another partner, and she called him in the middle of the night to tell him his advice had worked!”

He had began the story as a humorous anecdote, but as he progressed, Shelagh could hear the faint undertone of insecurity.

She reached up to stroke his cheek “Patrick, you know I would never-“

“No, I know, I didn’t mean to suggest that.” He sighed. “It’s only that I so badly want to give you everything, but I may not have the vigour I had 20 years ago.”

She bumped her nose against his. “I’ve never found you to lack it. I think you’ve certainly shown that tonight.”

She found his lips, and he allowed her to kiss away the uncertainty that belonged to that period of adjustment before they were wed.

“He also implied that female orgasm does not seem to play a role in becoming pregnant.” He noted, pushing on with their exploration of the intriguing article.

Patrick felt Shelagh’s nod. "Well that does make sense. Many women become pregnant from relations that - judging by their comments - seem very unsatisfactory.”

 _That_  shocked him. Surely the only time she would have come into contact with such commentary was when she was still Sister Bernadette. “How do you know that?”

Shelagh chuckled. “Darling, women _do_ talk at the clinic. To each other and yes, even to nuns.”

Patrick became serious once more. "Love, do you promise you’ll tell me if I ever leave you unsatisfied?”

She pressed a kiss to his chest in reassurance “I promise I have been and always will be honest. I can’t imagine you disappointing me dear, but I’ll do my best to communicate if there’s something more I want, or if our activities don’t bring about my completion.”

Patrick found himself relieved at her assurance, comforted by the idea that this was a new chapter in their communication in bed.

Shelagh seemed to be slipping into sleep, but Patrick still had questions. “Are there any notes you would add, my love?”

She stretched, waking her body and mind once more. “Well, psychological stimulants and pre-intercourse foreplay are certainly helpful.”

"Gräfenberg did touch briefly on audio stimulation. He noted that a sentence could stimulate an orgasm like a reflex.” He had been dubious when he’d read it but Shelagh had once again surprised him.

“Perhaps not quite a reflex,” she reflected. “Its mechanism of action is quite unlike the simple patellar reflex, for example. But if I’m close, if there are other modes of stimuli simultaneous to auditory stimulation and the like, it can tip me over.”

“I will certainly keep that in mind.” Patrick promised. He wasn't normally very talkative during their intimate relations, but perhaps that was another thing for them to explore.

“I believe there were also more unusual aspects of the article you mentioned?” Shelagh querried further, remembering Patrick’s earlier comments and now fully awake and curious about Gräfenberg’s research.  

Patrick could not contain a giggle at the reminder.  

“What on earth did he suggest?” She asked, propping herself up to look at him when he failed to answer.

“Well he did say the ear was an erotogenic zone.” He could barely speak for his laughter.

The dear little confusion lines returned. “Why is that so amusing? Patrick, you’re always nibbling at my ears”

“It wasn’t the mouth he was suggesting using to stimulate it,” he replied.

“Then what?” She was completely at a loss.

Now it was Patrick’s turn to adopt a falsely professional tone, schooling his face into the sober mien he adopted when explaining a serious prognosis. “The phallus can be used to great effect in the stimulation of the erogenous zones around the auditory canal.”

The look on her face undid him once more, and he had to turn his face to the pillow in a belated attempt not to wake the neighbours.

“He did not truly write such a thing in a respected journal!” In spite of her alarm, her husband’s mirth was contagious.

“Not in those exact words,” Patrick gasped, “but that was his suggestion.”

She pressed her face back to his chest as she shook with laughter. “Patrick, I love you, but I’d rather your phallus continue to seek out more satisfying orifices.”

The lazy kisses she had begun peppering down his sternum were rendering sleep an increasingly distasteful prospect.

“Experiments must be repeated multiple times to ensure reliability of results,” Shelagh reminded him.

“And we are certainly not sloppy practitioners in this establishment.” Patrick agreed, flipping her more properly on top of him.

At her questioning gaze he explained. “Gräfenberg claims that having the woman sit astride her man is another position that is most advantageous to female pleasure.”

She hummed in acknowledgement as she rocked herself along his rapidly-hardening length. “Then we absolutely ought not to falter in our investigations now.”

They certainly did not.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed whatever the heckity heck that was. Now you should go read Ernst Gräfenberg's article though, because it is HILARIOUS (the title is: The Role of Urethra in Female Orgasm, and his name is anglicized to Ernest). It includes such gems as “melodious movements of the testicles like a knocker on the clitoris,” so there's that. On the other hand, he did publicize the G-spot, which was then named after him, though that term wasn't coined until 1981. The article was originally published in the International Journal of Sexology. Not sure exactly why Patrick would have a copy of that magazine but let's not think too hard about that detail, yeah?  
> Also is is just me or is it that the dirtier things get, the more formal dialogue becomes? Cause they're getting busy and my brain just goes 'let us proceed posthaste doctor' 'onwards to the Big O my darling wife.' Maybe I'm just odd. Chime off in the comments section.
> 
> Here's a link to the article, if you're curious: http://www.andreadrian.de/Sex_und_Arbeitsteilung_Mann_Frau/1950_Graefenberg_The_Role_of_Urethra_in_Female_Orgasm.pdf


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